Mac Rialor, the Monarch

"Above all else lies Mac Rialor. The Tief have taken Them for their god, it seems - their primary deity worshipped above others. They do not understand the forces they trifle with, and this shall be their undoing in the end. Let us hope we survive to see such days."

Unknown

Mac Rialor is the god of temperance, order, law, rule, justice, restraint, passivity, peace, protection, deference, and future. They occupy a role as the deity governing rulers and leadership, a being capable of both granting and removing the right to rule itself. Beyond this, they are a god of many meanings for the common folk of Talamh. However, in the modern day they have become the principle deity for the Tief Clans of East Talamh. While they do not disregard the others of the Talish Pantheon, the Tiefling establishment has shown clear preference for them as the god closest to their ideals. The devoted of Mac Rialor are said to be some of the most dedicated amongst the pantheon's worshippers.
Ritualized belief in Mac Rialor stemming from Tiefling Clan politics have clearly infiltrated the view of the deity in the entirety of the East. While the beliefs across East and West vary on a basis of each god, the general personhood established for Mac Rialor wildly varies between the nations. There is an understood relationship between Mac Rialor and Birgitte as two deities working in concert to create balance in the hearts of the people. As for the Tief preference, Western scholars theorize that Mac Rialor is reminiscent to Tieflings of themselves based on appearance and cultural values. Some theologians even believe that Mac Rialor may implicitly remind Tieflings of their gods of the past in some way.

Divine Domains

Temperance and Order

As the god of temperance and order, Mac Rialor bolsters the hearts of the people to resist giving in to each and every desire as a means to structure strong societies and cultivate individual lives of purpose. This does not mean they are a god of harmful restriction, but one of self-control and self-respect in the pursuit of a higher ideal. They do not control the lives of the people and never have and are not a believer in mindless. They do, however, believe that harmony can only be achieved through some sort of societal order that meets people's physical, mental, emotional, and spiritual needs first. This tenet is often forgotten by the League of Clans and The Spire, who have taken an interpretation of Mac Rialor's dominion over order as transferring to the ruling class' responsibility over others.

Law, Rule, and Justice

The deity of law, rule, and justice, Mac Rialor holds sway over the written laws of nations as well as the laws of the world at large. In concert with Germagh(person:465b24fd-8eaf-47df-8444-3fea9a1c487d) and @[Owyn, they are said to orchestrate the physical laws of the world in a way to benefit the creatures that inhabit it. While a deity of justice, no texts from days long past state the true definition of this concept, which has resulted in many ideological differences between worshippers of the god. Both Western and Eastern courts often cite Mac Rialor in their justice systems.
While the god of rule and able to give and take this right away, Mac Rialor is meant to serve as a check of this power and a guidepost rather than an endorsement. They are an ideal to be followed, a celestial leader and Divine able to care for the people and the world at the same time.

Restraint, Passivity, and Peace

While restraint and passivity may be seen as negatives in some philosophies, Old-Faith Mac Rialor worship is grounded in these ideas. Those who follow the oldest ways in devotion to Mac Rialor often find themselves in the roles of ascetics or abstinent individuals seeking to eliminate suffering through the restriction of desire and possession. These individuals preach passivity as a way of reacting to scenarios rather than attempting to prevent them, not wanting to disrupt the flow of the future. In the modern era, the Tiefling Clans have all but abandoned these ideas. Since the beginning of the Conquest, they have been active within Talamh and the world. Saint Airgid of The Seven Saints is credited with the foundations of this change.
Still, Mac Rialor is a deity of peace. This is primarily of personal contentment rather than international peace, but some are attempting to push the idea that the ways of the Monarch may be a way to true societal enlightenment.

Protection and Deference

The protection and deference Mac Rialor offers are not in subservience to the deity but in respect of the self. They are a patron of all kinds of protectors, ranging from proud warriors to parents and guardians. Mac Rialor protects these people most of all, as they protect so many others. As the deity of deference, Mac Rialor encourages respecting others as a way to respect and uplift the self, not as a means of mindless obeyance.

The Future

Mac Rialor, like Birgitte, is no deity of the flow of time - this is Owyn's domain. However, they do represent a desire to think about the future and the generations to come beyond the current one. They are a god of forethought and planning, one who believes that any consequences on future events must always be kept in mind while still letting them occur. They respect the flow of time and still hold sway over reactivity, but one may react to predictions of future in the modern day in order to improve the world for those who come after.

Symbols, Sites, and Iconography

While fringe cults of Mac Rialor remain in the East that cultivate the ways of the old, most modern non-regional beliefs and practice stem from the activities of the Tiefling Clans. There are a myriad of Tief-written books on the subject, including standardized texts from The Spire seen as guidebooks in the appropriate veneration of the deity. These practices are inherently restrictive of other forms of worship towards Mac Rialor, but there is little to be done. The West has a far less standardized take on the deity, with regional beliefs prevailing and Mac Rialor perhaps being the most mysterious of the Divines.
Mac Rialor's most common symbol is that of a sword hilt with a butterfly perched upon its apex. Many variations on this symbol exist, but this one is relatively ubiquitous to East and West. A more modern sigil is that of the horned skull or horned helm often used by Tiefling Clans in their heraldry. It is not in wide use within the older clans, but modern Spire-influenced Clans have often taken it up as a personal symbol.

East Talamh

Godstone Mac Rialor

The Godstone stands on a peninsula on the eastern coast of the Bay of Celandine, a great cove diving County Derua and County Airgid. It is located on a rise jutting out towards the sea below. A great willow tree with a pond beside it stands at the opening to the peninsula. This location has gained the moniker of 'Reflecting Pool', as it is where the devoted of Mac Rialor come to reflect on their worship and hopefully come to contact the god themselves.
Godstone Mac Rialor is the most complex of them all. It is the only of them carved into a statue. It stands 150 feet tall and looks southeastward towards the location of Domhain. Mac Rialor is intricately carved in great detail. They are wearing a set of plate armor and sport a long, stone cape jutting out from behind them and seeming to defy gravity. One hand is placed on a great black sword driven into the earth of the cliff while the other clutches a book to their chest. Their face is stately and calm, almost child-like - they have large eyes and pursed lips. Their hair is carved with many runes and stained with a white stone, billowing out from behind them in frozen earthen locks. Atop their head sits a black tiara situated above two mid-length and slender horns near their temples.
Strangely, the Godstone experienced somewhat of a structural collapse roughly thirty years ago. Its hands have become cracked and broken while its eyes have sunken and splintered. The tiara upon their head is split in two and a great crack runs from their neck to their midriff. No theologians or scientists have been able to explain these changes.

West Talamh

Ynys Avallach

Ynys Avallach, or 'The Isle of Apples', is a great island in the Solstice Isles south of Germagh's Belt and in between the Autumn and Summer Provinces. Despite is large size, what is known about it is only rumor - a great mist surrounds the island always, turning away any ships, sailors, or swimmers that may approach. It is said that great apple trees whose fruits provide visions of the future can be found there. Some rumors even suggest that a relic known only as 'The Sword of Mac Rialor' is lying there just waiting to be found.

Relics

Mac Rialor is said to have possesed two great relics. One of these is Feilikkon, "The Apocryphal Refrain". It is a tome said to be able to connect the minds of individuals from across realms as a means to achieving harmony. It has been lost for a millennia or more, with its last rumored location being over 1200 years ago in the lands that became Balla Fear. Some suggest that the Refrain is now passed between hands as a simple text with its true purpose not understood, but these remain as rumors.
The other relic is only known as 'The Sword of Mac Rialor". Its true nature is unknown, but some speculate that it is hidden away on Ynys Avallach. However, the Cold Iron relic closely associated to Mac Rialor is Gaolbreaker, a weapon previously wielded by Saint Airgid and now by Cathal Riagain. This sword is sometimes mistaken as the very sword of Mac Rialor.

Religious Figures

The most prominent religious figure of Mac Rialor to ever live was Saint Airgid. One of the Seven Saints, they were at a time said to be Mac Rialor's earthly incarnation and brought worship of Mac Rialor into the modern age for the Tieflings. They spearheaded the foundation of the League of Clans and The Spire while living their life as a devoted warrior-priest of the Monarch. While they are a Saint to the East, they are a devil to the West.
The current Magi of Mac Rialor is one Zariel Buchanan, a bureaucrat from the city of Rosport who rose in the ranks of the Spire to the position of High Judge. He is responsible for the legal system of the faith and its interaction with the League of Clans. He is said to be an astute yet cautious man with a fondness for luxury.

Interpretative Difference

East Talamh

As stated many times, Mac Rialor serves as the principle deity for the Tief. Despite their reverence, they eschew many of the Old-Faith beliefs towards the deity in favor of a god who resembles Mac Rialor in flesh but not necessarily in spirit. For many, Mac Rialor has become a deity of Tiefling excellence above others, a right to rule over Talamh, and prejudice against the Fey. This couldn't be further from the truth, but modern establishments continue to push this narrative as sensical despite its poor foundations.
To the layman of the East, Mac Rialor is the god of the upper class. They grant favor to those who have power and keep those who lack it at arm's length. This has resulted in discontent for Mac Rialor among peasant communities, especially those of the Dwarves.
Strangely, some devoted of Mac Rialor within and without the Spire have claimed that they have not been able to hear the deity since thirty years ago. When beliefs like this are brought up, these individuals are usually paid off in some way by the government to stay quiet or are not heard from again.

West Talamh

For the West, Mac Rialor is contentious. Some regard them as a traitor, favoring the Tief over their native Fey. Others believe that they had no say in becoming the favored god of the Tieflings and are a victim themselves, warped by the power of belief to serve ideals that they do not agree with. Still more do not find a practical purpose for Mac Rialor in their lives. While the ideals of temperance, protection and peace do find traction, other ideas about order are typically looked down upon as Tiefling constructions. The worship of Mac Rialor has been tied to the Tief for so long that it cannot be divorced from them. The modern populous sees the two as correlated, unable to be separate. Old-Faith beliefs of Mac Rialor remain as quiet whispers from the oldest of Fey.
Like in the East, Mac Rialor's druids have not been able to contact the deity for the past thirty years. An organization known as Circle of the Breeze attempted to investigate this in the past but to no avail. Beyond initial panic, many Fey have abandoned the worship of Mac Rialor as an aspect of antiquity not relevant to modern life.

Species
The Gods of Talamh
Allegiance
The People of Talamh
Subordinates
The Thralls of Mac Rialor
Pronouns and Gender
They/Them/Theirs
Genderless
Realm
The Otherworld
Divine Relic
The Apocryphal Refrain 
Domains
Temperance, Order, Law, Rule, Justice, Restraint, Passivity, Peace, Protection, Deference, Future
Eastern Aliases
The Ruler, Silver-Saint God, Lord of Silver Psalms, Oathkeeper
Western Aliases
The Prophet, Divine Shield, Child of Refrains, Oathkeeper
Associated Virtues
Restraint, discipline, self-control, respect, patience, foresight, passivity, peacefulness, leadership, conviction

Divine Icons

Colors
Silver, white, black, purple
Animals
Butterfly, lion, dragon, horse, crow
Plant Life
Medicinal plants with healing or protective properties
Symbols
Sword hilt, Perched butterfly, Horned skull